Aston Villa’s latest signing, John McGinn, is looking forward to an ‘exciting challenge’ with his new club and has dreamt to playing in England.
The 23-year-old midfielder joined from Hibernian despite heavy interest from Scottish champions Celtic and will follow in the footsteps of his footballing hero Stan Petrov, who also featured in the Scottish Premiership before a move to Villa.
The transfer has delighted McGinn, who is looking to working with a club targeting a return to the Premier League after a two-year absence.
McGinn said, as quoted by The Scotsman: “This an exciting challenge and it has always been an ambition of mine to play in English football.
“Looking on from afar, I always had an idea Aston Villa were a big club. But now realise I misjudged it – they are a massive club.
“I want to do my bit to see it bouncing every week as we all pull together to help the club win promotion this season.
“I’m also following in the footsteps of guys such as Stiliyan Petrov. He was one of my favourite players at Celtic, and he enjoyed many successful years at Villa, as well as captaining the club.”
OPINION
John McGinn has the capabilities to develop into an excellent midfielder. The midfielder only cost £3 million, which is an absolute steal for a player with many more years ahead of him. The quality of the Villa players currently in the squad will certainly help to improve McGinn, who can learn from the experienced members who will be playing alongside him. McGinn will link up with manager Steve Bruce, who should get the very best out of the midfielder in order to endure a successful stint at the Championship club. A move to Villa should help boost his profile and fight for a regular spot in the Scottish national team. McGinn will have to deal with a lot of physical players in the second tier but has the attributes, such as intelligence and power, to manage against what will be much tougher opposition in comparison to the Scottish top flight. If he manages to hit top form, he could play a big role in securing an automatic promotion spot for his new club.